Full Notification

MEDIA RELEASE / COMMUNITY ALERT
CITY of SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT
200 Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org


IN COORDINATION BETWEEN SILICON VALLEY INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN(ICAC) TASK FORCE AND THE FOLLOWING AGENCIES:
SAN MATEO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, DALY CITY POLICE, EAST PALO ALTO POLICE, MENLO PARK POLICE, REDWOOD CITY POLICE, SAN MATEO POLICE, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO POLICE, SAN JOSE POLICE, THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, THE US POSTAL INSPECTON SERVICE, AND HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS

SMPD Arrests Four Men Among Ten Arrested Countywide in Joint Child Pornography Search Warrant Service – over 100 Investigators, 20 Agencies Involved

Ten San Mateo County men were arrested Thursday following a sweep of suspected child pornography users and distributors. Nine were booked into San Mateo County Jail on felony charges related to child pornography, and one man was arrested for an unrelated warrant.
Over 100 investigators from more than 20 different law enforcement agencies collaborated with the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force to launch the operation. San Mateo Police Detectives made four of the ten arrests – including two charged additionally with distribution.
Local detectives included teams from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Mateo, and South San Francisco Police Departments, the San Jose Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). A cluster of suspected child pornography users detected in San Mateo County led the SVICAC Task Force to launch the sweep, which began early Thursday morning. Officers armed with warrants searched 11 homes in San Mateo County. Computers with pornographic images and other evidence linking the men to the distribution and or possession of child pornography were seized. Nine Felony Arrests were made on men suspected of possessing and/or distributing child pornography, with additional investigations continuing from evidence seized.

The following suspects were arrested:

ARRESTEE – Age – CITY OF RESIDENCE – (LOCATION OF SEARCH WARRANT)
1. Gordon Lee, age 44, of Daly City (100 block Station Ave.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography
2. Christopher Winans, age 24, of East Palo Alto (900 block of O,Connor St.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography
3. Charles Reyes, age 46, of San Jose (400 block of Concord Dr., Menlo Park)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for arrest warrants and Possession of Child Pornography
4. Stephen Wolf, age 64, of Portola Valley (Unit block of Saddleback Dr.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography

*** #5 through #8 - SAN MATEO POLICE ARRESTS ***
5. Paul Ambler, age 58, of San Mateo (Unit block of E. 40th Ave.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography
6. Paul Tazbaz, age 36, of San Mateo (400 block of Seville Ave.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography
7. Samnang Chun, age 23, of San Mateo (600 block of 1st Ave.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography
8. Ritha Chun, age 29, of San Mateo also arrested, for an unrelated warrant on 1st Ave.

9. Steve Wilson, age 52, of South San Francisco (Unit block of Escanyo Dr.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography
10. Cruz-Martin Caseiro-Rosas, age 32, of South San Francisco (600 block of Commercial Ave.)
- Booked into San Mateo County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography

The 8-year-old Silicon Valley ICAC Task Force is one of 61 around the nation targeting peer-to-peer file sharing online, evolving from previous investigative techniques when suspects often were identified through chatroom decoy operations. Investigators search for hard-core images involving pre-pubescent children. They connect with suspects who are sharing the images and track their individual IP (Internet protocol) addresses. Investigators then use search warrants to figure out who owns the individual IP address and carry out search warrants for those people's homes. The San Jose Police Department is the lead agency for the SVICAC Task Force.

A key feature of the task force arsenal is a mobile forensics lab that allows investigators in a technology-stocked van to drive up to a suspect's home, seize hard drives and immediately begin searching for evidence that would normally take months to obtain from a state Department of Justice lab.

The SVICAC Task Force has arrested over 40 men for possession of child pornography since November. The task force has conducted a number of child porn enforcement operations in the Bay Area over the last few months, including multiple arrests in Marin County, Sonoma County, Monterey County, Alameda County, San Jose and Oakland.

COMMUNITY SAFETY MESSAGE:
Identification and arrest of individuals viewing and trafficking in child pornography is an important way that local law-enforcement agencies, in coordination with specialized groups like ICAC, prevent tragedies from occurring in our communities. Investigators have found significant links between the possession and trading of child pornography and the actual victimization of children, including a progression by some suspects from fantasy (internet child porn) to reality (sexual crimes against actual child-victims). Frequent operations such as these help keep our communities safe.

The residential location of many registered sex offenders can be located by simply searching the Megan’s Law website:
http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/ or via CrimeReports.com: www.crimereports.com
Public safety information about keeping children safe on the internet can be found at these websites:
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/parent-guide/parent-guide
http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents

MEDIA FOLLOW-UP:

For information about the SVICAC Task Force, contact San Jose Police Sgt. Gregory Lombardo:
Silicon Valley ICAC Task Force
Sergeant Greg Lombardo
San Jose Police Department
Office: (408) 537-1397

As the arrested suspects are in custody, any media follow-up concerning the individual arrestees may be directed to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office:
San Mateo County District Attorney
Steve Wagstaffe
650-363-4636



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